A Relatively Unknown Rapper Killed Jay-Z And Kanye In The Race For Album Of The Summer

The summer is a time for epic entertainment. From movies to
music, as the world slows, there's simply more time to enjoy the
things that make us feel good.

And so we have high expectations.

This summerJay-Z's
"Magna Carta/Holy Grail"and Kanye West's
"Yeezus"
were supposed to be full of those hot jams for warm nights. The
top-down burners we play in the winter to remind us what
relaxation feels like.

But neither album will function for that. Luckily, there's an
awesome replacement.

The two kings of hip-hop were dethroned from their summer reign
by a relative unknown — J. Cole. His 2nd album, "Born
Sinner"is the hop-hop album of the summer.
It's the answer to the boredom of "Magna Carta/Holy
Grail." It fills the groove-void left by Kanye's
foray into the headier side of music
(whether you like that or not).

"Magna Carta/Holy Grail"lacks imagination. Period.
It's the result of a fat and happy Jay-Z — of Old King Cole
sitting on his throne, counting his money, and ordering fifes and
drums to his side to construct a melody he can lazily spit rhymes
over. The man isn't hungry — consensus is that song after song,
all he has to talk about is how satisfied he is.

NPR called Jay-Z's album "mostly enjoyable and wholly
serviceable, but it's also safe and unadventurous."
Flavorwire did him worse, calling it "the 'Wall Street
Journal' of hip-hop.'"

Right now, Jay-Z's younger, "Reasonable Doubt" self would be
looking up at him, waiting for the moment to swipe his crown.

But since he can't do that, J. Cole did it for him — for us,
actually. "Born Sinner" is just a sick,
every-minute-of-these-21-tracks-is-quality album. The rhymes are
tight, the beats are tight, the kid is hungry.

It jumps off with "Villuminati" (watch the video
below, or click
here to listen). A choir sings, violins and harps break
in, and J. Cole's voice comes through — "It gets darker this
time," he says.

And then you're in. "Villuminati" is a track with a rich
nod-your-head beat, where J.Cole manages to rhyme "Machiavelli"
and "C-4 strapped to your belly." Even Topanga from "Boy Meets
World" gets a shout out. He talks about struggling, begging big
wigs like Jay-Z to listen to his songs and ignoring all the
haters — you know, the stuff hip-hop is made of.

It just gets better after that. There's an insane gospel choir
hook in the sixth track, "Trouble," that could make your hair
stand on end. And for anyone that was waiting for the smooth bop
of a classic Kanye song, check out "Chaining
Day."It's not exactly the same, but you won't be
disappointed in it.

J. Cole's not a complete unknown. For those who love hip-hop his
first album packed a serious punch with dramatic,
jump-down-your-throat-and-stay-in-your-head tracks like "Rise and
Shine", but compared to the kings, he's barely even a duke. He's
nowhere near the world-wide household name that Jay-Z is, or
Kanye is.

He just made an album like he was.

The moral of this story is that rappers have always been right.
They've rhymed it a million times — there is always someone
waiting in the wings, trying to take your spot while you're
focused on anything but your hunger.

Jay-Z and Kanye asked us to watch the throne. So what did they
expect?